Fighting for a Reason
by RedLegoManiac
Summary: Re-uploaded with a new storyline : Being a vigilante is difficult work, especially with your own father trying to hunt you down even though he has a city to take care of. Crime in Berk was never a personal problem for Henry Haddock, but the man who killed his mother for a few dollars made it personal.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer : Dreamworks owns everything

AN: This will be my first attempt with POV's. Also, sorry for deleting the other Fighting for a Reason, the premise and the small storyline I had with it had too many issues, plot holes and other sorts, and wouldn't have made much sense. This… new whatever this is fixes all that.

Chapter One : Fighting for a Reason

Astrid was facing her opponent. Ghost, he never showed his face, never spoke, and always knew where, or how, to hit. The match started and the two fighters bowed, then stepped into the ring. 'No turning back,' Astrid thought. She began to size up her opponent, seeing that he was vulnerable she planned a quick jab and a side kick.

Hiccup knew Astrid from high school, and the city precinct. He thought to himself, 'Of course they just had to put me with the girl that has anger issues…' She lunged at him with a jab poised to strike, he sidestepped catching her wrist and then using his free hand to block an incoming kick. He blocked her foot, and felt her growing frustrated. Deciding to end it, and swinging her around so her side was to him for a split second, he struck a pressure point underneath her shoulder, making her arm temporarily paralyzed. Astrid tried punching him with her good arm, but the punch was sloppy, and off balance. Seeing an opening to commence his finisher, he reached out to her paralyzed arm, ducking to dodge a high kick, he pulled her paralyzed towards him, with her body following. With an open palm, he struck her diaphragm. A quick gasp told him he hit the right spot, while she was stunned, he slipped behind her, ready to press down on the pressure point of her neck, to make her go unconscious.

Feeling what he was doing, Astrid thought of something quickly, she whipped around for another quick jab, she hit his side, and she felt satisfied until she felt a grip on her collarbone.

Hiccup finally had a grip on the pressure point, clamping down he cut off the blood flow, effectively putting her to sleep. He lowered her to the ground, and then stood up straight. He stepped back, and nodded to the referee, signaling that the match was over.

Astrid groaned as her vision slowly returned. Blinking her eyes a few times, she noticed she was laying down at the edge of the ring, beside Ghost. "What are you still doing here?" She snapped at him.

He turned his head, and behind the two eye slits of his mask she saw forest green eyes filled with dulled emotions. Hiccup sighed, remembering that he would not break character, and pointed at his eyes, then to the ring, where two more fighters were dueling.

"You're watching them?" She asked. He nodded, and gestured vaguely in between his eyes and his brain. "You're learning from them." She guessed. Hiccup nodded again. His stomach growled. "And now you're hungry." He nodded again, and got up to go to the vending machines.

000 Vague monologue that's at the beginning of nearly every story. 000

This is Berk, a coastal city on the eastern seaboard. This city has been here for many generations, all the way back when Nordic immigrants came to the United States. That being said, many people here have stubbornness issues. Don't get me started with the pests, unlike mice… actually we deal with them too… but the main pests are the street gangs. They fight because they can, and that the police don't bother to stop them.

That's where I come in, typically, one may say I'm a hellspawn or a demon, but really I'm trying to do the right thing. Outside the law, with no boundaries. Sure I've caused severe injuries, enough to land people in hospitals for weeks, but other than that I'm completely harmless.

I run around at night beating the crap out of gangsters, and during the day I work at Gobber's auto shop, and sometimes I get hired temporarily as a consultant for the city precinct, where I'm known by my nickname : Useless. I'm probably the smartest one there except for Frank.

That massive hulking figure of a man with the red beard who's also the police chief…. That's my dad, Chief Stoick Haddock. They say when he was a baby he stopped a bank robbery by himself.

I'm the opposite of him in nearly every aspect, but I got my stubbornness from him so needless to say we argue, a lot. Most of the time, it's about mom, or the police academy, or how he's so disappointed in me that I wasn't like him.

Our last argument was over my alter-ego, Night Fury. I don't trust easy anymore, and so far only three people know my secret. I attended San Fransokyo university since I wanted to get out of Berk for a while. During my studies, and with the help of a friend, I designed a phone that could essentially target and neutralize or hack nearly any nearby electronic device with the tap of a finger.

I guess I should get down to what I do at night, you see, for the past… actually for my whole life, Berk's crime rate has been growing. My mom and I were planning to move to a safer city, like San Fransokyo or Burgess, but she was murdered when I was a kid. And then when I was a tiny bit older, he left me with Gobber, the duel prosthetic meathead in the auto shop that treated me more of a son than my actual father did. He taught me all kinds of stuff, metalworking, leatherworking, and the stuff he didn't teach me, he helped me with anyways, like boxing and keeping my fishbone of a body in shape.

Of course, I have other routines that occur primarily at night that also keep me active, so that's a plus. Am I fighting for a reason? Yes. Are my methods frowned upon? Sometimes.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer : Dreamworks owns everything.

AN: Clarifying something: Hiccup was a social outcast in highschool, moved away to go to college in San Fransokyo, then moved back to Berk. I'll try to delve deeper into small backstories and characters in future chapters.

Chapter Two : An Average day

A blonde woman and a burly man dipped under the police tape cutting off the alleyway. The early morning sun barely lightening the dark sky. Red and blue lights were flashing around an alleyway. They both felt the chilly breeze of the beginning of winter.

"Ah, Detectives Hofferson and Jorgenson, nice to see you this morning."

Astrid Hofferson, the police academy's best trainee and one of the best detectives in the past decade. Scott Jorgenson, not the best, not the worst, but still a good detective.

"What happened here, Ingerman?" Astrid asked. Scott nodded, looking around at the bloodstained walls and the two men being loaded in an ambulance, another woman was standing off to the side with a tissue in her hands. She signalled for Scott to stay quiet, and he complied, not wanting to feel her icy glare or a vicious gut punch.

"It looks like," Frank Ingerman, or Fishlegs, pointed to the two men, "those two men were about to mug or rape the woman, but according to her they were interrupted by what she claims to be a demon."

"This sounds like that case from last week, involving the Outcasts." Astrid remarked, the Outcasts are one of the city's most dangerous gangs, rivaling the Dragons and the Berserkers on a territorial and power level. "Any chance we can talk to the two men?"

"I'm not sure if they're conscious, whoever attacked them really did a number on them." Frank replied. "One of them has been muttering 'Night Fury' and 'Demon' in his sleep. And the woman gave a description of the interloper."

"Do you have it with you?" Scott asked, interest at how someone could've put those two on the ground, they were built like tanks!

"Uh, yeah. Here it is: tall man, green eyes, and was dressed in complete black clothes." Fishlegs responded, reading the notepad. Unknowingly, the woman came up to them.

"I can explain what happened to them again, officer, thank you though." The woman said, before turning to Astrid and Scott. "I was walking down the street, heading home from a night shift, when those two men pushed me into the alley,one of them put a hand over my mouth to muffle my scream." She shuddered involuntarily, and stuffed her hands in her pockets. "And they were about to…" Astrid nodded. "I was pinned against the wall so I couldn't see well, but He jumped out of the shadows, and threw the man away from me, and shouted at me to stay back."

"Who's _He?"_ Astrid asked, raising a brow.

"The two bad men called him 'Night Fury.'" She answered, and continued. "I hid behind a dumpster, and peeked out and saw him fighting both of them, and winning."

"Was he using any weapons?" Scott asked.

The woman looked up at him and shook her head.

"Thank you for telling us, that's all we need." Astrid stated.

000

The drive back to the precinct had been filled with Scott's endless advances, which Astrid had grown tired of very quickly. Only 8 AM, and she's already in a bad mood. Spotting a familiar mess of auburn hair, she made her way to the lanky man. "What are you doing here, Hiccup?" She asked coldly. He was dressed in a green hoodie and blue jeans.

"Well good morning to you too." He replied, unfazed by the woman. "Chief's orders, called me in as a consultant."

"For what?" She glared at him, how dare he act so nonchalant and so carefree, can't he see people are working here? And geez, puberty did him some go - _Stop._

"Something about a museum artifact that was stolen a few days ago." Hiccup replied. At that moment, two officers burst through the front doors, dragging a middle aged man between them. "And that's him right there."

She glanced at the man in question, before turning back to Hiccup. "Okay, how'd you find him?" Astrid knew Hiccup was smart, he aced every test in high school, setting a new record as valedictorian, and also earning her resentment for being better than her.

"Long or short explanation?"

"Short, I need some coffee."

"Walk and talk?" He asked, slightly nervous. She nodded, and walked off with him following. "Okay, short explanation, he sold the artifact, and went on a vacation with the money. After sifting through his social media accounts, I found pictures of him flaunting his cash like an idiot."

"So another stupid criminal?" Astrid asked, waiting for her coffee to pour from the machine.

"In truth, yes, but I'm curious to who he sold it to, Interpol at the Canadian border apprehended the smuggler, and are shipping the artifact back as we speak." Hiccup ran a hand through his hair.

In a few seconds, her coffee mug is filled, and she began pouring milk into it, and put a pinch of sugar in. When Astrid looked up again, he was gone. She didn't have a chance to think about it since a beefy arm was laid across her shoulders.

"Scott, I swear to god, if you don't remove your hand in the next two seconds, I will castrate you." She growled, and twisted his wrist until she heard a pop.

"Oh babe, you know you can't resist all th- OW!" Scott whipped his arm away from her, and began cradling it. A few moments later he walked off, sulking.

"Detective Hofferson, come see me in my office." The Chief's voice rang out over the intercom system, silencing every other small conversation.

She immediately went to the chief's office, and sat in a leather chair. "You called, Chief?"

The large man behind the desk nodded. "I noticed that you and your partner have been having some… difficulties."

Astrid huffed, and crossed her arms. "More than a few." She said shortly.

"And that's why I am assigning you a new partner." Stoick announced, and a man slightly taller than her with tribal tattoos on his chin. "This is Eret, he recently moved from Australia."

He spoke with a slight accent."Thank you Chief, I am Eret son of Eret, and you are?"

"Hofferson, Detective Astrid Hofferson." She said shortly, only standing up to be polite. "If I may ask, 'Son of Eret'?"

"Ah, yes, my full name would be Eret son of Eret son of Eret Smith. There are three of us, and all three of us are still alive."

"Huh." Astrid shook his hand and sat back down. Eret took the seat next to hers.

Stoick placed his huge hands on the desk. "As I said before, Detective Hofferson, Detective Smith will be your new partner, I hope you two get along, and as for your new case, I want you to find a lead to the Dragons leader. Officer Ingerman will provide details and all information we have on them."

The two filed out of the office, and found Ingerman a few minutes later, munching on a donut. He noticed them, and put it down on a napkin, wiped his hands and withdrew a folder from a filing cabinet. "Okay, this is everything we have on the Dragons."

It wasn't an understatement to say that not much was there, a few higher ranked gang members, known for their brutality and vicious nature.

"This is hardly anything." Astrid grumbled, already irritated from her early morning outing, and having to track down an untrackable crime lord. Maybe she'd call - no. She can do this on her own. As stubborn as ever, she sat down at her desk and began to read on the multiple crime reports pertaining to the Dragons, leaving Eret to sit around and ask questions about the city, since he was new and all.

000

Hiccup entered the auto-shop, and spotted a large man wearing jeans and a loose white shirt covered with grease stains with two prosthetics, a left hand and a right leg. "Mornin' Gobber!" He shouted over the whirring of his prosthetic drill attachment. The drill powered down and the man looked up.

"Mornin' Henry!" He called out, chuckling as he saw the coffee cups in his hands. "Thought ye be dragged off ta some crime scene." He turned back around to continue working on a police motorcycle suspended above the ground by three pulleys

"Yeah, Dad called in a favor, and I cracked the mystery in an hour. And that's Hiccup for you!" Hiccup placed down the coffee cups, and dragged a cart with more prosthetic attachments to Gobber.

"Oh? What was it this time?" He asked, and wiped his hand on his shirt. "And what favor?"

"Museum theft, some kind of dragon artifact. The idiot posted pictures of his reward cash online. And letting me get out of some benefit hosted by the Arendelle corporation. Apparently, they're setting up a new branch here in Berk."

"And they needed ye for the museum thing?"

"Ahh… _no_." Hiccup drawled on. "It's the same thing every time with Dad." He began an imitation of Stoick's voice. " _Excuse me Doctor, I'm afraid you brought me the wrong offspring! I ordered an extra large boy with beefy arms made for servin' justice, this here, this here's a scrawny smartass._ He just wants me at the precinct as a consultant because I didn't go to the academy."

Gobber attached a different screw head to the drill. "Well, ye got one thing, the 'servin' justice,' and yer a sarcastic smartass. There's a difference."

"Thank you for summing me up." Hiccup sighed, and decided to change the subject. "So, what are you working on?"

"Oh, this right here?" Gobber patted the bike on the side. "The Thorston twins asked me to change the oil, recalibrate the steering, give a full inspection check up. Ye know." The Thorston twins, Thomas and Rachel, or Tuffnut and Ruffnut respectively, are probably the craziest cops on the force. However, no one can argue with their abilities on a motorbike, they are among the best drivers in the city.

"They almost shot me in the ass last month, I was stopping a robbery when they arrived." Hiccup said, and remembered his high school experience with them and his cousin, Scott Jorgenson, as his bullies. He felt a small chill run down his spine.

"Too bad they missed." Gobber teased him.

Hiccup took off his hoodie and t-shirt, and put a gray workshirt on. "Gobber, that'd mean I'd have a bullet in my ass, and I bet you would rather not have to dig it out."

"Touche, Lad. Now come give me a hand, I'm missing mine."

"Yeah yeah, I know." Hiccup grabbed a pair of safety glasses from a tool rack, and made his way to him. "Alright, what's going on here." He set to work, cleaning out muck and grime from the engine.

"Are you going out again tonight?" Gobber asked. He was proud of Hiccup, no doubt about that, but everyone needs some help sometimes.

"Yeah, I've finally got a lead on human trafficking ring, a meeting is going down tonight at some bar."

"Save me a beer, yer father will be griping until I've got a headache. Being drunk will help." Gobber grumbled. Stoick has a very loud way of voicing his problems, usually by pacing and yelling at the top of his lungs because the 'Night Fury' made the department look bad.

"If everything goes right, I'll buy you a barrel of mead from the tavern." Hiccup wiped his hands on a rag, heading to the office room.

"Ye don't have to go out there alone all the time, 'Iccup, I know it's not something you want, but it might be something ye need one day."

"You know I don't want to involve anyone else. There's a reason I work alone, Gobber, this way, no one gets hurt." He stated coldly. "I'll be downstairs if you need me." Hiccup stood up straight, and shifted the back panel of the closet in the office to reveal a secret path to his lair.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer : Dreamworks owns everything

Chapter Three : Forgive Me, Father

"Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned." Henry said, inside a confessional booth. The ornate woodwork on the window frame beside him caught his attention and he dragged a finger along it, traveling the course of the woodwork patterns. "It's been… it's been a long time. My mother used to bring me here as a child... even had me baptised."

The priest glanced at him through the woodwork. "Why did you stop coming?"

Henry froze for a moment. "Oh-uhm… my mother was murdered when I was nine years old, and my father's a stickler for Norse mythology." He said quietly. "My mother... was the real Catholic in the family, she would scare the living Christ-"

"Language."

"Sorry, Father… She was always kind and graceful, but when she was angry, it was like watching the Lord's wrath on earth." Henry said nostalgically, a small smile creeping on his lips. "Of course, it was near impossible to get her to that point. I never understood how she kept it all bottled up when I was young…"

"But you understand now?" The priest asked quietly. "Perhaps it would be easier if you told me what you have done."

"I'm living a lie, Father, but I'm not seeking penance for that… I'm seeking forgiveness for what I'm about to do." Hiccup's forest eyes darkened to a rich corrosive green.

"That's not how this works." The priest stated, then turned to him, narrowing his brows. "What are you going to do?"

"You'll probably hear about me on the news." Hiccup stated dryly, and left before the priest could ask anything else.

000

The streets of Berk were damp and cold, a light rain drizzled overhead, a few droplets of water landing on a black baseball cap. The wearer of this cap was walking alone on the dark street. He was dressed in all black clothing, a leather hooded trench coat, a t-shirt, jeans, and finally black work boots. Underneath the trench coat, he had a vest with two holsters under his armpits, and along his thigh he had a telescopic baton. His face was obscured by a brown scarf revealing only his forest green eyes. He heard the rumbling bass of a nearby nightclub, his destination.

The two story club hosted various shady characters from drug dealers to human traffickers. He caught sight of his target, a large and burly man with next to no hair, with a horseshoe mustache that was definitely out of style.

The said man was currently walking to the employees area of the club, and Hiccup watched him through the outside windows before ducking into a nearby alley and entering through a conveniently unlocked backdoor. Pulling out a specialized phone, Hiccup connected to the building's wifi, and accessed the control panels, allowing him to take control of nearly all of the electronic systems. This way, he could take control of a nearby phone, and listen in on the conversation, even if it's behind closed doors.

The large man dragged a finger across a screen in the wall, unaware of the two green eyes that were across the dark hallway, and unlocked the service elevator. He stepped inside the service elevator, and turned to watch the doors close. After the doors shut, Hiccup moved from his dark corner and moved quickly, prying open the elevator doors to enter the elevator shaft. The elevator stopped moving, and he grabbed the cables and lowered himself down. He watched through a small grate in the elevator's ceiling Ryker stepping out of it, and continuing down a hallway. Using this as his chance, Hiccup popped the grate off, and landed in a crouch inside the elevator.

He crept in Ryker's footsteps, and approached the door. He planted a small device on the door, allowing him to listen in on the muffled conversations in perfect clarity.

"Alright, gentlemen, bidding will begin for container 1411 at eight hundred dollars." They were sick, twisted men, selling women like livestock and shipped them across the world to be used as sex slaves.

"Right here!" Someone called out.

"Container 1411 at nine hundred dollars." The auctioneer stated. Hiccup tapped a button on his phone, causing a blackout in the building, the music stopped, the lights went out, and he heard panic ensue.

He kicked the door open, aiming a suppressed pistol at two armed thugs who were bodyguards and firing twice. A bullet for a skull. The miniscule muzzle flashes illuminated the room, and in the next second, Ryker and the other men whipped out their own firearms and began shooting back at him. Diving into cover, Hiccup paused for a moment, allowing the shadows to encompass him.

"Think we got him?" One of them asked. Another asked with a shaky voice. "W-who is he?"

Hiccup gritted his teeth, growling, "I am the _Night Fury._ " The statement received a whimper and some rustling.

"Turn your flashlights on." Ryker commanded. Hiccup heard the four clicks, four flashlights. Four more monsters. He selected another option for his electronic warfare, and activated the water sprinklers. One of them turned away in surprise, allowing Hiccup to pop out and take a shot at him.

The man shouted out in pain, collapsing to the floor. Ryker turned to run out the door, but a bullet from Hiccup's gun hit his knee, causing him to land sprawled out on the floor. They heard police sirens coming from above, and the rapid series of footsteps approaching them. Hiccup sprinted out of the door, heading to the back door of the club.

He soon made it into the alleyway, and was about to screenshare the lists of women that were being trafficked onto the tv's inside the club. "Freeze!" A british voice shouted.

A familiar voice cut through the air. "Get your hands in the air!" Astrid shouted.

Hiccup froze, slowly putting his hands in the air, the phone in his right hand. Astrid approached him with handcuffs in her hands, and just before she put them on his wrists, he triggered another blackout. Using the darkness to his advantage, he ducked down and rolled away before standing up again. With quick jabs he paralysed her left arm, and caught the british man with a punch to the diaphragm. He swept his legs out from underneath him, causing the bulkier man to fall to the ground.

Astrid tried to withdraw her gun, but the masked man caught her wrist, the martial arts skills kicked in as she spun her wrist around his hand, going for a counter grip. But the man with the scarf would have none of it, he slipped the phone into his pocket, and pulled her towards him, and rolled backwards. Astrid landed on her back with a grunt, and looked up in surprise as she met two very vivid green eyes and a barrel to her nose. She sucked in a gasp, realising it was her own weapon.

In the next second he was gone; the gun laid at her side in three pieces, the slide, grip, and the magazine. Eret was already up, holding a hand out to help her up. She saw the hand, and sighed, before pushing herself to her feet.

When they entered the restaurant again, they saw a bulky man restrained to a cot with paramedics attending to a bullet wound. Hiccup was watching from outside, and screen shared the evidence to the tv screens inside the club, and watched as Astrid cuffed him to the cot.

000

The next morning, the priest sat on his living room couch, watching the morning news.

"We interrupt your daily report to bring you breaking news from downtown Berk, where a man has been arrested and charged with the kidnapping of several women and human trafficking." The tv screen switched over from the newsperson to a cluster of squad cars in front of a club. ' _Darn teens, always drinking and clubbing.'_ The priest thought to himself.

"Police reports indicate that an armed assailant was already present on the scene, and the suspects who are already in custody reported the assailant dubbing himself as 'Night Fury.'" The newswoman said.

"Several other people have come forward, claiming they have met Night Fury, and that he had protected them from gangsters and other dangerous people." The newswoman continued, and just to keep the viewers intrigued, she finished with:

"Who is… The Night Fury?"


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer : Dreamworks owns everything

Chapter Four :

A pair of tired blue eyes watched as a mop of auburn hair entered the police precinct. "You okay?" The blue eyes turned to the voice, seeing Fishlegs standing there with a donut in one hand and a drink carrier with two cups of coffee.

"Yeah, just a long night, Fishlegs." He handed her a cup of coffee, which she accepted. "What's he doing here again?" She asked, sending a pointed look towards Hiccup.

"The Chief wanted to see him, I heard Snotlout say that the Chief said something about the bust last night."

"You actually listen to Snotlout?" Astrid asked, sparing Fishlegs a side glance.

"When it comes to food, yes. For whatever reason he has connections at all the best steakhouses." He replied.

They heard the police chief shout about responsibilities and safety, and the office area quieted to listen.

"Son, the police department needs you. Berk needs you. It's time to save lives." The Chief said, leaning forward in his chair and resting his elbows on the desk.

Hiccup was sitting in the guest chair, trying his best to not agitate his father. "Berk doesn't want me." He said quietly. "It didn't want my ideas when I was in high school, or at university. The people sure as hell never cared for me, so why should I care for them." He said animatedly, and stood up to close the blinds to the office.

Stoick narrowed his eyes, and stood up as well. "Henry." He said sternly.

Hiccup turned around, matching his father's eyes before looking at the floor and sighing. "It's not who I am, Dad… Not anymore." He opened the door, seeing all the heads turn to him, and he turned around. "Are you still barbequing tomorrow night?" He asked casually despite the conversation that just took place.

"Yes, and go ahead and invite Gobber, I haven't had the chance to call him this morning." Stoick replied.

"Okay… uh, good talk."

"Yeah, good talk, Son."

Hiccup's casual mood quickly deteriorated as he walked out of the office, the other officers watching him. He looked up for a quick second, meeting Astrid's eyes, but he narrowed his eyes and continued on. A minute later, the officers heard a motorcycle roar and zoom off; unsure what to do about the obvious speeding violation, they returned to their jobs.

Astrid turned around to face her computer monitor, checking her emails, while Fishlegs went back to his desk. She sat there in thought, remembering how different Hiccup was in high school. 'He was always quiet… Smart, but quiet.'

"Hey Babe." A short, stocky man entered her peripheral vision.

'Shit.' Astrid looked up, put on a facade, and pretended to actually give a damn. "Hi, Scott."

"How's it hangin'?" He asked, leaning on her desk, he didn't give her a chance to ask (not that she would) before continuing, "Hey, I'm going to hit the gym later, want to go? You look like you work out."

"Hey Scott, come take a look at this!" Tuffnut shouted from the lobby, and the stocky male sauntered away. Astrid rolled her eyes. Time passed in a slow drawl for her until her shift ended. It was nearing four pm when she got home to a one bedroom apartment.

After walking through the dim hallway in her building, Astrid turned the key, and the door clicked open. She stepped inside her humble abode, realizing that she had forgotten to take the trash out, before turning around and locking the door, with all three locks. There was a chain lock at the top of the door, the heavy duty door lock, and a bolt lock that went into the frame.

She clicked on the lights, seeing red twine interlace on her walls, tacked to pieces of newspaper articles and other snippets of information. Sunlight filtered in through her window, casting shadows across a long forgotten journal on the coffee table. A leather bound notebook, forgotten during high school and recently discovered in an old backpack she had left at her parent's. They gave it to her to look through, perhaps they had read it, but they didn't say anything to her.

 _"Hahah! Nerd!" Astrid heard someone taunt._

 _"Give it back."_

 _"What're you gonna do about it? Huh?"_

 _"I said: Give. It. Back."_

 _Astrid watched the scene before her, it was the quiet boy, and a recent transfer. "James." She said, looking to the new kid. "Knock it off."_

 _The transfer, James, snorted and turned to her. "Screw off, Bitch." Since he was turned away from the auburn haired teen, he didn't see the incoming fist until it was too late._

 _"Hiccup!" Astrid found herself shouting, and the journal went flying out of James' hand, landing on the ground a few meters away from pair. The two teens wrestled on the ground until Hiccup got the upper hand, acting quickly he delivered a quick blow to the throat while pinning James' right hand to the ground. James gasped, sputtering for air._

 _"MR. HADDOCK THAT IS ENOUGH!" The voice bellowed throughout the hallways, and the hulking figure of the Berk High principal, Mr. Oswaldson, walked through the ring of silent students before coming to a stop before Hiccup and James._

 _"Haddock. Explain yourself." Hiccup released James' wrist, and shoved himself off him._

 _Breathing heavily, and wiping a bead of sweat from his chin, he said. "He insulted Astrid. I know you wouldn't give a shit, but I do."_

 _Everyone gasped, and began murmuring. "Hiccup Haddock, speaking more than a few words at a time? Impossible."_

 _The auburn haired teen turned to the students, looking for his journal, but couldn't find it. "Haddock, Anderson, my office. Now." Principal Oswaldson ordered._

A knock at the door interrupted Astrid's flashback. She looked down at the journal, wondering why she ever kept it. She never meant to keep it. A knock sounded at the door again.

"Yeah yeah. Hold on." Astrid rose from the couch, walking lightly to the door. After peering through the eyepiece and recognizing a childhood friend, she opened it quickly. "Heather!" They had arranged a 'stay for a few days' hangout situation thing, but Astrid didn't realize that she'd be in town this early.

"Astrid! Long time no see!" The raven haired woman was wearing brown boots with tight fitting jeans and a gray tank top with a black leather jacket over it. Her vivid green eyes shone brightly as she embraced Astrid.

She returned the embrace, "Wow, Heather you've changed so much, c'mon, let's get your stuff inside." Astrid looked to the small suitcase behind Heather, pointing a thumb backwards. "How's Berserk?"

"It's seen better days." Was all that Heather said as she rolled the suitcase in. "How's Berk?"

"Apart from an urban legend, I'd say things are okay."

"An urban legend?" Heather asked, intrigued.

"A Thors-damned vigilante." Astrid corrected, and turned the tv on to the news.

"Breaking news, a few moments ago we received footage depicting a confrontation between the Night Fury and two criminals in a diner on the south side of Berk. The two criminals were in the middle of robbing the establishment when the Night Fury intervened. Take a look."

The news channel switched over to footage from a security camera. The two criminals were wearing ski masks, one of them held a pistol and the other held a short-barreled shotgun. The one holding the pistol held out a canvas sack, instructing the cashier to put money in the bag. All of a sudden, the lights went out, and the muzzleflash of the pistol illuminated a fourth figure in the footage. When the lights came back on, the cashier was still standing there with hands over her mouth, and two men were on sprawled out on the floor.

Astrid turned the television off, eliciting a cry from Heather. "That's it?!"

The blonde snorted. "Of course that's it. Some asshole is just going around punching people." Why she said that she didn't know. It wasn't what she truly thought.

"Hold on. What has your panties in a twist? I think it's cool to see a vigilante in action."

"Nothing has my panties in a twist." Astrid said defiantly, Heather didn't look convinced.

"Astrid do you even wear panties?" Heather questioned playfully as Astrid turned a deep scarlet.

"Of...of.. C..course I do!" Astrid nearly screeched before hitting her friend in the shoulder. "It was one time, okay!?"

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Heather conceded as she rubbed her shoulder, "Damn girl. You can hit, but still, what's got them in a twist?"

Astrid groaned. "This guy is new. From what I've seen, he's dangerous and fast. Berk has never had a vigilante before. He's outside of the law, so why is he helping us?"

"... maybe he thinks he can make a difference." Heather supplied. "The police have been slacking off in the past few years. Just look at the crime rates."

"How do you know about the crime rates?"

"Let's just say I have a friend of a friend who works as a journalist and they can find pretty much anything." Heather explained and then shuddered at a memory. "However do not ever give them alcohol because getting them to shut up then will be near impossible." And she then gave Astrid a blank look. "It's also very obvious that crime is out of control."

"...That's fair." She said after a minute of silence. They shared a glance, then looked to the tv once again. "Best two of three?"

Heather hopped over the couch, reaching forward to grab the xbox controller. "You're going down." Astrid powered up the Xbox, and selected Call of Duty Black Ops.

"Same kits?" She navigated through the menu, selecting Nuketown and setting the mode to free for all.

"Always."

A masked man sat on a fire escape, the metal bars digging into the leather of his trenchcoat. In his hands were a pair of binoculars. The streetlights illuminated the corner rather well and the laundromat across the street had but a few people in it.

He felt a vibration against his chest. Reaching inside of the coat he retrieved his phone and answered it. "Hello?" He said in a whisper, and laid the binoculars down on the surface of the fire escape.

"You were right. I did some digging and there's weekly movements of something coming from that laundromat." Gobber said from the other side.

"Alright. I'll be in and out, should be easy."

"You make me nervous, Lad." Gobber said, and then disconnected the phone call. Hiccup climbed down the fire escape ladder, waiting in the alley for a truck to pass by before walking briskly across the street.

Rain began to pour, and an arc of lightning lit the sky. He went around the back of the building, finding that back door, then discovered it to be locked. 'Not for long.' He crouched, inspecting the lock, then began to pick the lock. After a minute of fiddling with the tumblers, the lock clicked, and the door cracked open.

Hiccup peeked into the backroom, seeing rows of printers and boxes of paper and ink. He laughed inwardly, laundering money inside a laundromat. He sighed, and rummaged through another pocket of his coat, looking for a lighter.

"Oi! You're not supposed ta be in here!" A voice shouted, his hand reaching for a gun.

"Ah shit." He cursed to himself, and drew a silenced pistol with his left hand while his right hand grabbed the lighter he was looking for. With expertise he shot the gun out of the thug's hand, then once in the leg, making him fall to the ground. Hiccup winced at the cry of agony, knowing that Valka probably would not approve. 'Sorry Mom.' He closed the gap between them, and kicked the thug over. "Tell me everything you know!" He growled.

The man sputtered, still clutching his leg in pain. "I-I'm not telling you anything!"

Hiccup sighed, then got very close to the man's face, speaking in the most menacing voice possible, he said. "I will skin you and tear flesh from your bones. I will personally gut you like a fish. Do. You. Understand." He holstered his pistol, drawing and flicking open a balisong (1) and resting the blade against the man's throat.

The words did their job, and the thug whimpered. "Gun deal went south. Bad blood between the Dragons and the Outcasts. A-A-and from what I've heard, Berserkers are moving in."

Hiccup frowned behind the mask. Berserkers? "Thanks for the info." He said shortly, furrowing his brows. He released the thug, then delivered a swift kick to the head to knock him out. After dragging him outside, Hiccup went back inside the backroom.

He opened the fridge, seeing a half empty bottle of vodka that'd work wonderfully as a fuel, and a box of takeout chinese food. "Chinese with vodka? Like asking for Mao Zong Dong." Hiccup muttered to himself. He spotted a duffel bag in the corner, and walked to it, then unzipped it. It was filled to the brim with cash, and to be sure it wasn't counterfeit he held it up to the light.

If he was using it, then that meant bad guys were not using it, which is good. Stealing from a thief is acceptable, right? Hiccup went back to the fridge, grabbing the bottle of vodka before walking over to the printers and pouring the vodka on them. The boxes of counterfeit money would go down with the building, he presumed, and lit the doused printers with his lighter.

"So, how's the dating side of life going?" Heather asked, now dressed in pyjama bottoms and her tank top. Astrid was also in pyjamas, with her feet propped up on the coffee table before them.

The two women were locked in round forty seven of Black Ops Zombies on Kino Der Toten. Astrid snorted. "Police work takes up too much time. Even then, I don't like anyone in the precinct."

"Who said I was talking about just the precinct? There's a world outside of work y'know."

Astrid brought her feet back to the couch. "Yeah, I know, Heather. I'm just saying, most people in Berk are muttonheads." A zombie attacked her, causing her to go down, and she cursed. Astrid brought her feet back, but in doing so knocked the old journal off the coffee table.

"What's that?" Heather asked.

"Some old journal." Astrid said nonchalantly.

Heather reached down and picked it up, flicking through the first few pages. "Astrid… whose journal was this?"

"That Henry Haddock kid from highschool. I see him sometimes at the precinct. Why?"

The raven haired woman turned the journal around, and Astrid saw herself in perfect detail, it was like looking into a mirror. "That Haddock kid had the hots for you."

"Give me that." Astrid said, and after accepting it from Heather she turned to the next page, dated 2/19. "Word of the day," She read, "monachopsis - The subtle but persistent feeling of being out of place." The girls shared a glance, realizing they were going through someone's most sacred thoughts.

And they turned the page.

-==-0-==-0-==-0-==-

1: A knife with 1 blade and two handles, AKA a butterfly knife

So, RTTE S4. Really good huh? I thought so. I got this warm and fuzzy feeling at all the heathlegs and hiccstrid ship moments

Sorry I've been gone for so long, there's so much that happened involving a girl that I liked which ultimately ended in confusion and rejection (for me). I will hopefully be updating more, I've actually started writing again (yippee!).

Guest Review Response (I should start doing these more)

TheNightFury : Hiccup is not going to have superpowers in this AU, and I'm surprised it's taken me this long to update

PhantomWorks : Hiccup's MO will be a mix between the two but also have inspiration from other sources, such that as Sherlock due to a character trait I will be revealing in the coming chapters.


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